The Greenwood Junior Bulldogs moved to 8-0 on the season last Thursday night with a convincing 40-7 victory over the Fort Smith Kimmons Raiders. The 'Dogs also improved their River Valley Conference record to 6-0 and are the only unbeaten team in league play with two games remaining. A win next Thursday over Trinity would earn Greenwood at least a share of the conference title for the fourth consecutive year. They will end the season on November 5th at home against Alma.

Last week's contest with Kimmons was originally slated as a road game at Mayo-Thompson Stadium on the campus of Northside High School in Fort Smith, but the recent rainy weather caused a late change of venue, explained head coach Don Harrison after Thursday's victory. "About 9:30 this morning they called and said they didn't want to play on their field because Northside had a big game [Friday night]." Harrison and his Bulldogs were more than happy to oblige by moving the game to the artificial turf of Smith-Robinson Stadium. "Of course, we'll take it. It was huge," said the coach.

Greenwood's opening kick sailed out-of-bounds to start the game, giving the Raiders' offense the ball at the 35-yard line. But on the first snap, Logan Gregory set the defensive tone for the Bulldogs. After the completion of a short pass in the backfield, Gregory dropped the receiver for a loss at the 31. The next play was also a pass that was very nearly intercepted, followed by another incompletion on third down.

Starting from their own 44 after the Kimmons punt, Greenwood QB Houston Kennedy misfired on his first pass attempt. But on second down, Kennedy gave the ball to running back Drew Morgan, who burst through the middle for a 56-yard touchdown run, barely eluding the speedy defensive pursuit to reach the end zone. The extra point try by kicker Avery Sinkuler was good for a 7-0 lead at the 6:40 mark.

The Raiders responded with a nice kick return to near midfield, but another big defensive play - a quarterback sack by end Cole McAllister - put them in a deep hole at the 38-yard line. After a pair of failed pass attempts, they were forced to punt again, giving Greenwood the ball at the Kimmons' 49 after the return by Kenton Turner. Eight plays later the Bulldogs dented the goal line for their second score.

On first down, Morgan added 14 yards to his impressive first half total, advancing the chains to the 35-yard line. After three more passes fell incomplete, the Bulldogs faced fourth down and 10. But instead of going to the air again, Zach Claude got the call up the middle and rumbled for the needed yardage to keep the drive alive inside the 25-yard line. After Kennedy misfired on his fifth consecutive pass, he finally connected with receiver Mason Copeland, who made a fine catch and reached the 2-yard line before going down. Morgan completed the scoring drive on the next snap, and the PAT made the score 14-0 with 3:27 remaining in the first quarter.

But the 'Dogs weren't done. On Kimmons' next offensive possession, Greenwood defensive back Jansen Stein picked off a long pass attempt near midfield, got some nice blocks from his teammates, and returned the interception down the left sideline for a touchdown. Sinkuler's kick made it 21-0.

Still in the first quarter, the Greenwood defense created yet another turnover on the Raiders' next possession. Tyler Thompson came up with the fumble recovery at the visitor's 21-yard line. But Kimmons dodged a bullet when the 'Dogs failed to make a first down, and a fourth down pass attempt fell incomplete at the goal line. The Raiders took over at their own 22, but could do nothing offensively against Greenwood's stingy defense.

As the game moved into the second quarter, the Jr. Bulldogs were on the move again behind the strong running of Drew Morgan, who accounted for another 34 yards on just two carries. But the passing game continued to be largely ineffective when Kennedy's next toss was picked off by the Raiders' Ladariest Dorsey near the 30-yard line.

Kimmons finally got a first down, combining a pass completion with a facemask penalty, and moved the ball into Greenwood territory for the first time at the 46. They got eight more yards to the 38, but the drive stalled when they failed on fourth down, giving Greenwood possession at its own 37-yard line.

The Bulldogs then marched 63 yards in eight plays, converting a fourth down try into their fourth touchdown of the opening half. Zach Claude got the assignment on first down, bulling his way straight ahead for 11 yards. Morgan then ran for 11 more to the 37, and Kennedy completed a short pass to Copeland at the 33-yard line. On the next snap, Copeland got the call again, this time on a run to the 17. Morgan ran for three yards to the 14 on first down, but two more incomplete passes put the Bulldogs in a fourth down situation. But this time Kennedy was right on target in traffic, finding Copeland in the end zone for the score. The Greenwood receiver was tied up with a Kimmons defender, both players struggling for possession of the ball. But the PAT failed and the Greenwood lead stood at 27-0.

With the half coming to a close, the Greenwood defense forced another Kimmons punt with 1:04 left in the second period, and the offense did not disappoint. Facing third down and long yardage after a holding penalty, the Bulldogs dialed up a miracle play with 11 seconds left on the clock. From his own 29, quarterback Houston Kennedy completed a short pass to receiver Cole McAllister, who turned in a magnificent run, crossing from one side of the field to the other on his way to the end zone. Just after McAllister reached midfield, the buzzer sounded ending the half. But even a second missed extra point could not dampen the spirit of the home team as they headed to the locker room at the half up 33-0.

The Bulldogs quickly added to the score in the opening minutes of the third quarter. Taylor Loveday returned the opening kick of the second half to the 34-yard line. Claude ran for eight yards to the 42 and Kenton Turner got three more to the 45. Kennedy then kept the ball for a nice gain to the Kimmons' 43. Morgan ran for three yards, Turner for four, and Claude for three more and a first down at the 33-yard line. Claude got three more on the next snap, followed by six yards from Turner and a 5-yard penalty on the Raiders to the 19. Kennedy made another nice run to the 7, then gave the ball to Claude, who bowled his way into the end zone on the next play, dragging a defensive player with him, desperately clinging to the running back's jersey. This time Sinkuler's kick was perfect for a 40-0 lead with 2:58 left in the quarter.

Against Greenwood's second team defense, and with the clock running almost continuously because of the mercy rule, the Raiders finally scored early in the fourth quarter, completing an eight-play drive. The touchdown came on a 19-yard pass completion from QB Nolan Gibson to Devante London. The kick was good, making the score 40-7 with 6:52 remaining in the game.

Despite playing mostly reserves, the Bulldogs once again threatened to score, set up by a nice kick return by Matt Sisco to the Kimmons' 44-yard line. Taylor Loveday carried the ball on four consecutive plays, gaining 33 yards to the 11-yard line. But on his fifth straight carry, Loveday was faced with a dilemma. He saw daylight and a clear route to the end zone around left end, but after a moment's hesitation he turned back inside and was tackled at the 5, refusing to take what would have been an easy touchdown. The Bulldogs took a knee twice, refusing to score, and gave the ball back to the Raiders, who managed to cross midfield in just two plays, but ran out of time.

Regarding the game's final minutes, Coach Harrison explained his team's strategy. "We told them that we really didn't want to score. We had enough points, plus we had some guys we wanted to see play defense. We came out in the second half and we didn't have all of our starters out there, and we went on a great drive [and] ate up almost the whole third quarter. [But] we're not out here to embarrass anybody or make people look bad. We're out here to [make] these kids better and get them ready for high school. I know [Kimmons'] Coach Vitale. He's a Greenwood guy and his kids played hard tonight. We just got a couple more breaks and made a few more plays than they did. For us to get on top of them like that, I didn't expect it."

Once again, the Greenwood defense proved tough, giving up just seven points with the starters standing on the sideline for most of the second half. "We told our boys we didn't know what they were going to do," said Harrison. "We told our kids all week that we thought they were going to give it to Devontae Carter - a great running back - real strong with good balance. He does a great job. They were either going to come out and pound us to death, or they knew we'd be ready for that, and they would try to throw it. They run a lot of formations. They go trips, they go doubles, and they'll go under center in the I-formation. So we had to get [the defense] ready for all of this, and at the same time we're telling our kids that they're either going to give it to [Carter], or they're going to use him as a decoy. I know he got away from us one time, but other than that, I thought we bottled up Carter really well. We told our kids, if we can get them in third and long, they're going to have to throw it to him in space, or air it out downfield to their other guys. And we really liked the match-up of our D-backs against their receivers running downfield. Our kids did a great job, and we're so proud of them."

Adding to his comments about the secondary, the coach also praised his defense for batting down several long pass attempts and scoring a touchdown on Jansen Stein's interception in the first half. "Jansen dropped that first one. He thought he had it, but his elbow hit the ground and it fell out of his hands. But he came back and picked [another] one off. Defensive touchdowns are huge," said the coach.

"I think more than anything, our defense gets better every week because our mike backer Jay Jackson is getting better. He made a lot of plays tonight laterally, and that tells me he knows what they're going to do before they do it, and he's getting there in a hurry. Jay's not the fastest guy in the world, and for him to be making plays on the outside perimeter [means] it's clicked. And for him to be on that plain and to be playing on this high of a level is huge. Jay's played well all year, but I thought tonight and this week in practice, I almost think Jay has got it mastered to exactly what we want him to do. He's playing off his instincts, what he's seen in film, and what [Defensive Coordinator Tim] Cothran has told him to do."

Offensively, Harrison couldn't say enough about his stable of running backs, starting with Drew Morgan, who ran for over 130 yards in the game. "Morgan's having a great year," said Harrison. "He's to the point now where he can run it up the middle as much as he can break it on the side. And that's just him having instincts and getting really good at understanding what this offense is doing. I think [he] and the guys up front are meshing really well together."

Regarding Morgan's long run to start the game, the coach was impressed. "That was huge," he said. "We tell them all the time how fast the other team is, [but] it seemed like he just hit another gear. I don't know that I've seen him hit that gear [before]. There were a couple of times though, I don't know if he got touched until he was 10 yards down the field. That just tells you what a great job the front five does and how well Coach [John] Herbert has them prepared every week. They do an awesome job."

Harrison also had words of praise for his other running backs, starting with Zach Claude. "Claude is our power guy. He's got a great nose for the end zone. We've got four that can go. [Taylor] Loveday ran it late, and he's an explosive guy. He can do a lot of stuff. They compliment each other really well." The fourth back in Greenwood's well-stocked cupboard is Kenton Turner, who saw limited action against the Raiders, and battled injuries earlier in the season.

The Bulldogs are scheduled for one more road game next week against Trinity Catholic Junior High at Southside High School in Fort Smith. "We're supposed to play Trinity at Southside," said Harrison. "But they may not want us on that field again, and if we get the chance, we'll surely have no problem inviting those guys over here." The Greenwood coach also addressed the importance of the next game. "If we beat Trinity we will be 9-0, and we'll be the only team in conference without a loss at that point. No matter what happens the last week, we would have a share of the trophy, and that's four in a row, and that's one of the goals we had at the beginning of the year."

Finally, Harrison was willing to discuss the possibility of an unbeaten record, after sidestepping the question earlier in the season. "That's going to make the boys show up on Monday and work hard," he said. "We've never had a 10-0 Wells Junior High freshmen football team. It's never happened. We had a 9-0 year in '07, but we've never had a 10-0 year. Last year we went 9-0 and [then] we lost that heartbreaker 14-13 to Alma. So I know the boys are focused on that as much as anything. I think there's an extra incentive now. They see the end of the road. We don't talk about it, but I know it's something that's floating around in the locker room. There's never been a 10-0 team, and we've got a chance."